Page 35 - FoodFocusThailand No.183 June 2021

SPECIAL FOCUS

End-To-End Traceability Efficiency Boost
While we touched on the idea of It’s no secret that when deployed and developed properly, a machine or automation system
traceability a little in the point above, it’s can perform work faster and better than human laborers, at least in some cases. A machine never
the lion’s share that’s really going to tires, never gets bored and can never slack off—unless it has a malfunction. That’s not to say
make a difference. Automation and modern technologies will be used to replace workers outright, but instead, they might be deployed
modern analytics tools can be deployed alongside them to help them work faster, better and safer.
to track products and goods from Take Amazon, for instance, which has deployed an army of AI and automation robots inside
inception to fulfillment. Because the their warehouses to improve the efficiency of their order fulfillment process. It has the added
systems in question are designed to track benefit of speeding up the entire system, so customers get their items faster. It also improves
and monitor on their own with little to no safety and performance for the workers, effectively eliminating unsafe tasks or rote work.
input, you can tap in anywhere along the Automation can provide benefits across the board for the food and beverage industry. It will
chain to seek the information you need. be interesting to see how technological developments unfold.
Have a contaminated shipment that
was discovered too late? You can use
the modern analytics and automation
tools at your disposal to find exactly
where they are shipped or headed. This
way you can head off a massive health
problem before it even starts.
This, in turn, can help alleviate
compliance costs and stressors, as well
as improve the overall performance of
the supply chain and various key
processes. You could, for example, see
how long a particular stop or touchpoint
along the supply chain is taking and use
the information provided to speed up
performance.
End-to-end traceability and all the
data that comes with it is about more
than just watching where food comes
from, where it is handled and where it
goes. You can use the data provided to
build an accurate profile and predictive
system for future gains.

Improved Worker Safety
Automation systems, AI and modern
robotics are often used to control rote,
repetitive and sometimes even
dangerous tasks. In this way, you can
save human laborers from the dangers
of a particular activity or even the
monotony of busy work. It frees them up
to handle more important demands,
which is another benefit.
Of course, increased safety and
protection for your loyal workforce can
also work to alleviate operation or
maintenance costs in the long run. It can
lead to faster and more widespread
adoption of new standards and
regulations for your workforce at large
as well. Traditionally, such a change
might require additional training, new
equipment or even better protection for
your workers.
In the case of automation, you can
simply update the existing hardware and
software to be compliant and save the
trouble of maintaining everything else,
such as updating safety gear for your
workers, which would no longer be
necessary.

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